From Coachella Valley hiking trails and public pool closures to school test scores and hospital mortality rates, Desert Data will frequently provide mydesert.com visitors with public information in user-friendly, interactive databases.

The California Department of Education released results from the 2013 California High School Exit Exam, called "CAHSEE," on Aug. 29, 2013. Students must pass this exam to earn a diploma. They take it for the first time as sophomores. Those results are listed below.

The California Department of Education released 2013 Academic Performance Index, or API scores, on Aug. 29, 2013. These scores rate the overall success of a school based on a collection of test scores. Schools are scored on a scale of 200 to 1,000, with a goal of 800. Most Coachella Valley schools donít meet that goal.

For the first time ever, the U.S. Department of Education has collected teacher absenteeism rates for schools around the country. Absenteeism rates are measured by calculating the percentage of teachers who missed more than 10 days of class during the 2009-2010 school year.

The Palm Springs Walk of Stars features more than 350 stars in the city's downtown area.
Choose "See All" or a last name from the dropdown menus below to find the location(s) of the Palm Springs stars of your choice.

The pensions of about 200 teachers and administrators who retired from Coachella Valley schools may be reviewed by the California State Teachersí Retirement System under new policies designed to prevent inflated benefits.

The four tribes local to the Coachella Valley area have contributed significant amounts of money to political candidates and initiatives.
Explore mydesert.com's database below showing the political contributions of the Agua Caliente, Morongo, Pechanga and San Manuel tribes from the 2000 through 2012 political contribution cycles. Search by tribe, election cycle or recipient of the contribution.

The Boy Scouts of America on Oct. 18 released files that reveal accusations made against scout officials since the 1960s. The Texas-based organization did so after the Oregon Supreme Court forced the files' release to the public. Visit our interactive database to learn more about where and when accusations were made.

More than 600 of the desert's charities are included in this database compiled by The Desert Sun. Choose a city or write in nonprofit name to learn more about charities' missions, locations, how to contact them about donating or volunteering, and how much their assets are worth.

The Coachella Valley's retail vacancy rate was 18.2% in late June 2012, according to commercial real estate firm Marcus & Millichap. That rate is higher than anywhere else in Southern California, which is closer to an overall 10 percent figure.

Riverside County, like all Coachella Valley cities, contracts with the California Public Employees' Retirement System to provide its former workers with pension benefits. Using multiple records provided by the statewide agency and the county, The Desert Sun has compiled a database of every county retiree who received a pension check in 2006 through 2011.